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BY JOYE JONES
SPECIAL TO THE UMCONNECTION

It was past time for the afternoon recess of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference on Thursday, July 19. Thunder rolled across the sky as presiding Bishop Jane Middleton spoke. "Before we adjourn," she said, we'll take another ballot. "Anyway, it's raining outside so we can wait to recess."

There was a soft groan because we had already taken 35 ballots, more than the NEJ had ever done before. Bishop Middleton began the familiar litany: "Number of ballots cast - 223; number of valid ballots - 223; number needed to elect - 134." But then the script changed. "We have an election!" The room erupted in cheers as the Rev. Mark Webb was elected bishop, the final one of the three we needed to elect.

It was my first jurisdictional conference. The only thing I really knew about it was that we would elect three new bishops. I had received a large booklet with various things we would be considering: budget, rules, reports, resolutions. I had received a large stack of paper, two sides per page of dense print containing the biographical sketches of each episcopal candidate.

Since I knew only one of them - there were 19 in all - these pages were supposed to tell me everything I needed to know about the candidates. I was assured we would be interviewing each candidate. We did.

Arriving Monday evening, July 16, at the Marriott Hotel in Charleston W.Va., I was assigned to a small interview group with about 30 people. That night all the small groups met to decide how each would proceed. The next day at 8:45 a.m., we started the interviews. With a 15-minute break in the morning and another in the afternoon, and longer breaks for lunch and supper, we worked steadily, interviewing every candidate, 25 minutes each. Somewhere around 9:30 p.m., we finished. From that brief interaction, we were tasked with the awesome responsibility of selecting leaders of The United Methodist Church. How could we possibly do this?

The diversity of our church, especially in the NEJ, was reflected in the candidates for bishop. We had candidates who were Anglo, Korean, Indian, Hispanic and African-American. We had men and women. Some were young-ish, others less young. Most had been or were district superintendents; all had served in significant leadership positions in their annual conferences and/or the General Church. Except for three of the women candidates, they all wore black for the interviews.

Wednesday morning, the NEJ Conference officially opened. Each annual conference delegation sat together, and we delegates had to sit in the order in which we were elected by our annual conference, alternating clergy and lay. We worshipped together and received Holy Communion. We learned to vote electronically. Our first bishop was elected on the fifth ballot - Sandra Steiner Ball; our second on the 21st - Martin McLee.

As we waited for results and waited to vote again, we listened to many presentations and conducted the business of the church, including increasing our support of the Imagine No Malaria campaign. On the 35th ballot our task was finally complete.

Friday morning was a time of great anticipation. After the Conference elected the final bishop, the NEJ episcopacy committee (made up of the Rev. Laura Easto and Delores Oden from the BWC and two people from each of the otehr annual conference) went into session to assign each bishop to an annual conference. The committee met in discernment until 5 a.m. The appointments were announced hours later on Friday morning.

The Baltimore-Washington Conference was announced first - Bishop John Schol would not be returning; instead we were receiving Bishop Marcus Matthews, a son of the BWC.

There were many amazing and awesome happenings during these days in West Virginia, but to me, the most amazing was that we succeeded in electing three bishops, even though most of us didn't know many of the candidates.

We often talk about the work of the Holy Spirit in our churches and in our ministry. After participating in this process, I am convinced that the only way we were able to select these three leaders was through the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.

I had been so discouraged by what I had seen and heard about General Conference. Indeed, it seemed we had become the "Untied" Methodist Church. But I left the NEJ conference with hope.

Yes, there were times of disagreement. But, driving home from West Virginia, I began to believe that if the Holy Spirit could get that diverse group of people in a civic center in Charleston to agree on three people to serve as our leaders, then there is hope that our church could indeed be United once again - but only by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through each one of us. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Rev. Joye Jones is pastor of Good Shepherd UMC in Silver Spring.